Brother of Salih Khater, the Westminster terror attack suspect says his brother has ‘never been radicalised’ and ‘loves England’ – but admits he has struggled since the death of their father

The Westminster terrorism suspect is an asylum-seeker who was recently granted British citizenship, had been thrown off a university course and suffered a family bereavement.Salih Khater, 29, is from Sudan but is believed to have come to Britain in 2010 after working for two years in Libya. He came as a refugee and was granted asylum, sources confirm

AIWA! We Press//Khater, a 29-year-old British citizen of Sudanese origin, was arrested atthe scene of the Tuesday Aug. 14, 2018 car crash outside the Houses of Parliament on suspicion of “the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism,” police said.

The older brother of the Westminster terror suspect has said he is ‘100 per cent sure he is innocent’.

Mustafa Khater, 33, said his younger brother Salih had ‘never been radicalised’ but admitted he had been struggling following the death of their father and brother last year.

Mr Khater, who is still living in Sudan, said: ‘Salih is a sincere kid, all his aims in life are studying, finishing studying, and finding a good job which gives him and his family a future, he knew how the situation is here in Sudan, with a dictatorial regime.

‘He’s never become radicalised. Never. He would never do it because we are from Darfur, and extremism is our enemy, as it is your enemy and as it is the enemy of Islam. We love England.’

He told The Sun: ‘I’m 100% sure that my brother is innocent of what he’s accused of. It was an accident. I’m sure he’s innocent.’

Salih Khater, 29, was arrested on Tuesday after his Ford Fiesta Zetec rammed into pedestrians and cyclists outside the Houses of Parliament.Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism Neil Basu said the priority for investigators was to understand the motive of the attack.

Khater had driven 115 miles overnight from Birmingham to the capital and toured the Tottenham Court Road area from 1.25am to 5.55am.

He then headed to Westminster and Whitehall, and at just after 7.30am yesterday his vehicle is caught on CCTV, appearing to show Khater react when the emergency lights appear closely behind his vehicle.

Within minutes the driver, dressed in a white shirt, jeans and a black puffa jacket, was dragged from the driving seat of the crumpled vehicle by armed officers.

The terror suspect – thought to be a lone wolf – remained strangely calm and utterly silent, offering no resistance as he was handcuffed.

Khater had also been studying accountancy at Coventry University but dropped out and left in May, while friends said he had also wanted to be a pharmacist but failed that course at a Birmingham college because his English was poor.

He is refusing to speak to detectives while he is being held in a south London police station, but MailOnline can reveal Khater enjoyed listening to Rihanna, Celine Dion and Eminem as well as watching Premier League games and football in his native Sudan.